Online content is protected by copyright laws, however, in actuality these laws fail to adequately prevent illegal use and copying of online content. In addition, the widespread use of file exchange programs has resulted in a rapid increase in the amount of illegal copying.
DRM has been developed to protect the intellectual property rights of a content service provider and to prevent illegal copying. DRM supports generation, distribution, and management of content, such as charging and payment services for use of the content.
DRM allows a user to pay a fee to access particular content during a specified time period. Without payment of the appropriate fees, access is prevented by utilizing a security authentication system for the individual content.
In some cases, unauthorized access to content is achieved by circumvention of the DRM system. As an example, the manipulation of time information, which is maintained using a battery or a clock unit, may allow the unauthorized access to content. Accordingly, there is a need for new methods and systems with improved DRM functions to prevent illegal use of content.